Rob Font just glad UFC 213 win was against the opponent he trained for

LAS VEGAS – When Amanda Nunes pulled out of the UFC 213 main event the afternoon of the card on Saturday, it was a huge opportunity for Rob Font.

Font went from a bantamweight fight against Douglas Silva de Andrade on the prelims on UFC Fight Pass straight to the opening fight on the pay-per-view main card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, leapfrogging the FS1 portion of the show entirely.

Font (14-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) made the most of his opportunity and submitted Andrade (24-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) with a second-round guillotine choke. The finish was worth an extra $50,000 as one of the “Performance of the Night” awards.

But maybe even more importantly for Font was the simple fact he went through a training camp and only had to think about one opponent.

“Every fight I’ve had since I got to the UFC, I’ve never fought my original opponent,” Font said after his win over Andrade on Saturday. “So for me to go through the whole camp and actually fight the guy I was supposed to fight, it’s been huge.”

Andrade had but one loss on his record heading into the fight with Font, and that was a decision setback in his UFC debut in February 2014. That fight came on short notice and with a quick turnaround time.

He then got booked to fight Font, of all people, three years ago, but had to pull out with an injury. At long last, the cards lined up for them to meet at UFC 213, and Font made sure Andrade was worth the wait.

“This was a huge fight for me,” Font told MMAjunkie. “He hasn’t lost in forever. The guy’s 24-1. He had a lot of experience. He’s been there, done that, so this was a big fight for me.”

Now that he has back-to-back wins, Font is starting to look higher up the bantamweight charts for his next opponent.

“I think Pedro Munhoz would be a great fight for me,” he said. “Anybody in the top 10, for sure. But I think Pedro would be a great name for me.”

Check out the video above for more from Font after his win over Andrade.

And for complete coverage of UFC 213, check out the UFC Events section of the site.